1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to providing communication devices access to network services and applications. More particularly, the invention relates to methods, devices and systems for partitioning, bundling and transferring access to network services and applications through cooperation between communication devices and smart cards.
2. Description of the Related Art
Smart cards conventionally are used in many types of portable electronic devices, including communication devices for enabling access to a particular network or account, configuring such devices to perform different functions, or allowing such devices to enable or access various services and applications provided by the network service provider and/or third party providers of services and applications. Such smart cards typically are made of plastic and have an electronic chip module mounted or embedded therein. The electronic chip module typically is a semiconductor chip including an integrated circuit with a microprocessor and memory, if appropriate, and contact or connection points for electrically connecting the terminals of the integrated circuit to the contact interface of the electronic device in which the card is inserted.
Many mobile or wireless telephones and other portable communication devices use smart cards with a subscriber identity module (SIM) to allow access to a wireless telephone network and other services and applications provided by the network operator or service provider and/or third party providers. Although portable communication devices typically have a dedicated smart card, some conventional systems allow and provide for a single smart card to be associated with more than one communication device. Also, some conventional communication devices include adapters or other means that provide for multiple smart cards to reside in and be operably coupled to the communication device. In such arrangements, typically only one smart card can be used at any given time.
Many conventional methods exist for providing secured information transfers between user devices and one or more smart cards. Typically, such methods involve some sort of digital rights management technique that often includes encrypting the content to be transferred and providing one or more decryption keys to authorized users or user devices for decrypting the encrypted content. Conventionally, decryption keys exist in many different forms and can be delivered to and obtained by authorized users and/or user devices in various ways. Often, content decryption involves obtaining a succession of decryption keys, with the availability of each key depending on the acquisition of a previous key. Such encryption typically involves a tiered keying scheme, where high-level or high-tier keys are used to obtain mid-tier keys, and mid-tier keys are used to obtain low-tier keys.
However, in conventional systems, including systems that use conventional DRM methods, network services and applications provided to an authorized user typically remain associated completely with a particular smart card or completely with an associated end user device.